Academy of Finland

About: Academy of Finland is a government organization based out in Helsinki, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 286 authors who have published 419 publications receiving 15304 citations. The organization is also known as: Finlands Akademi & Suomen Akatemia.

Boltzmann's ergodic hypothesis

Abstract: Boltzmann's ergodic hypothesis is usually understood as the assumption that the trajectory of an isolated mechanical system runs through all states compatible with the total energy of the system. This understanding of Boltzmann stems from the Ehrenfests' review of the foundations of statistical mechanics in 1911. If Boltzmann's work is read with any attention, it becomes impossible to ascribe to him the claim that one single trajectory would fill the whole of state space. He admitted a continuous number of different possible mechanical trajectories. Ergodicity was formulated as the condition that only one integral of motion, the total energy, is preserved in time. The two reasons for this are external disturbing forces and collisions within the system. Boltzmann found it difficult to ascribe ergodic behavior to a single system where the theoretical dependence on initial conditions, though never observed, has to be admitted as possible. To circumvent the dependence, he invented the concept of a microcanonical ensemble.

Challenges for Comparative Social Research

Abstract: The comparative study of nations and countries has been built on the notion that causal inferences in the field should approximate the design of natural science experiments. It seems fair to say, however, that there is not a single social science comparative study which has succeeded in any strict manner in complying with the rules of scientific experiments and the canons of John Stuart Mill. The attempts to base comparative sociology on a quantitative tradition with roots in the rules for scientific experiments have nevertheless been fruitful in the sense that they have helped to raise and formulate many core problems of comparative research. Yet, the time is ripe for realizing that most comparative studies would greatly profit from a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. It is generally assumed that the qualitative study is best at the explorative stage of a project and that it ought to be followed by a more strict quantitative study. In the light of experience from many comparative studies it is reasonable to argue that it is the other way around and that quantitative analysis usually is at its best at the explorative stagc whereas a qualitativeoriented analysis provides the final insight and understanding. The need for a reversal of the order of the two kinds of approach is not a purely methodological issue. The call for quantitative, comparative research proliferated at a time when internationalization and the integration of single countries into bigger units appeared to be not only politically salient but also humane goals. Today the preservation of the nationally and ethnically unique in the midst of homogenizing and uniformizing international tendencies has at least in small countries become not only politically but also humanely important.

Depressive symptomatology is associated with decreased interleukin-1 beta and increased interleukin-1 receptor antagonist levels in males.

Abstract: Previous studies with selected patient populations have suggested that cytokines, the immune system messengers, may play a role in the aetiology of depression. However, the data concerning the increase or decrease of the plasma cytokine levels in depression is controversial and the effects of the medications and type of depression are largely unknown. We studied the connections between plasma interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) levels, and depressive symptomatology measured with the Beck Depression. Inventory in a large, middle-aged population-based sample collected from Central Finland. In addition, the effects of various medications and type of depressive symptomatology on the cytokine levels were scrutinized. In the whole study population, IL-1RA levels were higher in the subgroup with depressive symptomatology. In the males with depressive symptomatology, higher IL-1RA levels and lower interleukin-1 beta levels were observed as compared with the non-depressed males. The IL-1RA/IL-1 beta ratio was significantly higher in males with depressive symptomatology. The IL-1RA levels were also higher and IL-1 beta levels lower in the depressed females, but the trend was not significant. The elevated IL-1RA-levels and IL-1RA/IL-1 beta ratio suggest a role for cytokines in the pathogenesis of depression. The higher IL-1RA levels may reflect an endogenous repairing process against depression.

Determination of water uptake of polymeric ion-selective membranes with the coulometric Karl Fischer and FT-IR-attenuated total reflection techniques.

Abstract: The water uptake of plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and silicone rubber (SR) based calcium-selective membranes which are commonly used in solid-contact and coated-wire ion-selective electrodes (SC-ISEs and CWEs) was quantified with the oven based coulometric Karl Fischer (KF) technique. Two different membrane types were studied: (1) the plasticized PVC or SR (RTV 3140) membrane matrix without other added membrane components and (2) the full Ca2+-selective membrane formulation consisting of the membrane matrixes, potassium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate and calcium ionophore IV (ETH 5234) or calcium ionophore I (ETH 1001). The membranes were contacted for 24 h either asymmetrically from one side or symmetrically from both sides with deionized water (DIW) or 0.1 M solutions of CaCl2, KCl, or NaCl. It was found that the water uptake was higher for symmetrically contacted membranes. The highest water uptake (0.15–0.17 wt %) was obtained for the plasticized PVC based Ca2+-selective membr...

Evaluation of the Performance of Multiantenna Terminals Using a New Approach

Abstract: In this paper, an advanced experimental plane-wave-based method (EPWBM) for evaluation of the performance of multiantenna systems is considered. The method enables a statistical antenna evaluation without performing long routes of radio-channel sounder measurements to be carried out separately for each antenna under test. The EPWBM utilizes the joint contribution of the estimated signal spectrum and the simulated or measured complex three-dimensional (3-D ) radiation patterns of antennas under test. The proposed method enables more comprehensive antenna evaluation in a shorter time period compared to direct measurements. For validation purposes, the results obtained with the EPWBM are compared with the results of direct radio-channel measurements. The method is shown to be sufficiently accurate for comparing the performance of different antenna configurations. The average difference between the two methods is below 1 dB when estimating the diversity gain of two-element antennas. Further, the maximum difference between the methods in multiple-input multiple-output analysis is below 1 b/s/Hz in estimating mean capacity